Mergers & Acquisitions

QVC just gained some credibility among hipsters and millennials by buying a popular Internet flash sale site that caters to those younger shoppers.

Chicago -- Transwestern’s Chicago office announced it brokered the sale of Town Square of Schaumburg, a 96,014 sq. ft. retail center, in Schaumburg, Illinois, for an undisclosed amount to Tony’s Finer Foods. Tony’s Finer Foods plans to open a Tony’s in the former Dominick’s space, which closed in December 2013.

Former Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson became the chain drug industry’s first executive to receive the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s highest honor.

Bellingham, Wash. – West Coast regional grocer Haggen is scaling back some highly ambitious growth plans. Haggen, which made headlines by buying 146 divested Albertson’s and Safeway stores as an 18-unit chain in December 2014, is closing or selling a number of locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

CEO Brian Cornell isn't done retooling the executive leadership team at Target Corp.: The retailer now has a new COO and CFO.

Target has promoted current CFO John Mulligan to the newly created role of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1. Mulligan will assume oversight of stores, supply chain and properties. Joining Target as executive vice president and chief financial officer will be Cathy Smith, a seasoned retail business leader. Both Mulligan and Smith will report to Cornell.

The CEO of Party City said the earlier Easter holiday hurt its second quarter traffic as the retailer reported a loss.

In the second quarter ended June 30, the party supply retailer said same-store sales rose 1.2%, shy of analysts' forecasts for growth of 2.8%. The company also posted a loss of $23 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.5 million a year earlier. Overall, sales rose nearly 1% to $495.5 million in the quarter. 

Westlake, Ohio -- TravelCenters of America has completed its previously disclosed acquisition of 33 convenience store locations in northern Illinois.

The company expects the stores, which average approximately 3,400 sq. ft., will be rebranded as Minit Mart convenience stores and the sites will undergo improvements in the coming months.

TravelCenters of America operates some 370 convenience stores under the Minit Mart, TA and Petro Stopping Centers brands.
 

Retailers rely on a combination of dividend payments and share repurchase programs to return cash to stockholders, but the latter method is coming under scrutiny as Democrats look to leverage the populist theme of income inequality during the 2016 presidential campaign.